Most of us are well aware that children are prone to accidents. Their lack of experience, exuberance, and trust often cause them to unknowingly take risks and get into situations that threaten their health and safety. But, many children’s accidents are caused by the negligence of others or by defective products to which a child has been exposed. When a child is injured or killed in an accident caused by someone’s negligence or a defective product, those responsible for the child’s injury or death may be subject to liability through legal action.
Child accident attorney Jeffrey Killino has extensive expertise and experience with all types of child accident cases, including those arising out of injuries and deaths caused by negligence or defective products. If your child has been injured or killed in any type of accident and you suspect that your child’s injury or death was due to someone’s negligence or a defective product, attorney Killino can help you obtain justice from the responsible parties. Contact attorney Killino at 877-875-2927 for a free assessment of your case and additional information regarding your legal rights and options.
Legal Liability for Children’s Accident Injuries and Deaths
Children are often injured or killed in accidents that are caused by someone else’s negligence or a defective product, such as a children’s product or toy or a product intended for adult use to which a child has gained access. Liability for such injuries and deaths may depend on the negligence and product liability laws of the state in which an action seeking damages for a child’s injuries or death is filed.
Liability for Accident Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Products
Children are often injured while playing with defective toys or while using other defective children’s products. Toys with small parts, for example, may cause choking accidents that result in a child’s serious injury or death. Toys painted with paint containing excessive levels of lead may lead to a child’s severe injuries or death if the child accidentally ingests the paint.
Other defective children’s products, such as car seats, cribs, crib attachments, games, strollers, and highchairs, may also cause children’s injuries or deaths. Defective car seats may enhance injuries sustained by a child in a car crash. Defective strollers and highchairs may cause a child to strangle, leading to the child’s asphyxiation injury or death. Items designed to be attached to a child’s crib, such as mobiles or other entertainment articles, may contain cords or strings that pose strangulation hazards to children.
In addition to toys and products intended for children’s use, defective products designed for adult use may also lead to the injury or death of a child. Unstable dressers and other furniture may fall on children, causing crushing or suffocation injuries or death. Button batteries in remote controls and other adult products may lead to serious injuries and deaths if children choke on or swallow the batteries.
Under most states’ product liability laws, the manufacturers, designers, suppliers, assemblers, and retailers of defective products may be found liable for injuries or deaths caused to children by product defects. Though product liability laws may differ from one state to another, most states allow such actions to be brought as breach of warranty, negligence, or strict liability claims. When a child has been injured or killed as a result of a product defect, however, the strict liability form of action is usually preferred. This allows the plaintiff to establish the liability of all the defendants noted above without proving that any of the defendants was negligent in producing or releasing the defective product.
Liability for Children’s Accident Injuries and Deaths Caused by Negligence
Children are commonly injured or killed in accidents that might have been prevented if the adults responsible for the children’s safety had not been negligent in their supervision of the children entrusted to their care. Children may also be injured or killed in accidents on someone’s property that result from the negligent maintenance of that property or the failure to prevent children’s access to land containing conditions known to be dangerous to children.
Individuals and entities that offer childcare services have a duty to exercise due care for the safety and health of children entrusted to their care. Negligent supervision by child caregivers on playgrounds, in houses, or in children’s own backyards may result in children’s fatal or non-fatal accidents. Allowing a child to play with toys or to use playground equipment unsuitable for the child’s age may be found to constitute negligence on the part of a caregiver and result in the caregiver’s liability for injuries sustained by the child as a result.
Children may also be killed or injured as a result of the negligence of homeowners who have failed to take adequate precautions against children’s access to backyard pools. The owners of land on which lakes, ponds, or other bodies of water are located may also be found liable for children’s fatal or non-fatal drowning injuries caused by the owners’ negligent failure to prevent children from gaining access to the water.
Contact Us
If your child has been injured or killed in an accident as a result of someone’s negligence or a defective product, child accident attorney Jeffrey Killino can help you hold those responsible for your child’s accident injury or death accountable. Contact attorney Jeffrey Killino at 877-875-2927 for expert assistance with your child’s accident case.
